Tag: cooked thoroughly

Everyone loves to eat good food. Meals often taste much better when they are prepared by someone who knows their way around the kitchen. Experts and amateurs alike can use the advice provided in this article.

If you would like to start cooking more food on your own, take a trip to a local library or bookstore where you can find many cookbooks with recipes you can enjoy making at home. Try making three or four of the recipes that appeal to you the most, and give yourself plenty of time to perfect your newly acquired skill.

Your spices and herbs should always be stored in a cool and dark place. Many factors can cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor, especially humidity and light. Herbs and ground spices usually retain their flavor up to a year. Whole spices can keep their flavor for up to five years. They’ll last longest when stored properly.

Give pie and tart crust a little longer baking time than you normally would for the best results. They should be golden caramel in color instead of pale blonde. The golden color is a sign that the sugars in the crust have finally caramelized.

When preparing stir-fry dishes, slice meat as thinly as possible and on its bias. This can be quite tricky and time-consuming. Before the meat is frozen (but when it is firm), pull the meat from the freezer, and slice the meat at a forty-five degree angle.

There is a remedy which will quickly fix this problem. Mix 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 2 tablespoons of water in a bowl. Stir the mixture into simmering sauce to make the sauce thicker. Add your starch slowly, then stir constantly to not over-thicken it.

Try this quick trick to salvage your efforts. You need to mix 2 tablespoons filled with water and 1 tablespoon filled with corn starch in a bowl. You can then add the solution to the sauce and it will become thicker. Add the starch slowly and stir the sauce constantly to avoid making it too thick.

Prolonged boiling of vegetables destroys many of the nutrients contained within them. Quick cooking methods should be used when cooking vegetables so that their nutritional value can stay in-tacked.

Slicing meat is easier if the meat is frozen. This technique is particularly good for meats served in Asian cuisine. When the meat is partially frozen, it is much easier to slice and doesn’t tear or stretch. But, if you use this technique make sure that the meat strips thaw out again before you cook them.

Do you regret having to throw out old fruit? Can you actually save your fruit by cutting the part out that is rotten? Cutting off rotten bits of fruit will not make them safer. Throw them away because mold grows much deeper than you can see and moldy food can make you very sick.

For crispier French fries, you should chill the peeled potatoes in water for 30 minutes or more before frying them. Vegetables fibers can breakdown under high heat conditions. Soaking reinforces these fibers to produce better results.

During autumn, apples are an important ingredient in many recipes; however, they do turn bad if they are not carefully stored. Apples will rot if they are stored in warm, dry air, so make sure to keep them in plastic bags in a cool place. Quickly remove any apples that are rotting, because they will cause the other apples to spoil quicker.

Try adding cauliflower to your mashed potatoes to lower the fat content. The somewhat bland taste of cauliflower helps it to blend seamlessly with your potatoes while picking up the other ingredients. When they’re mashed, cauliflowers have the same appearance and consistency as potatoes, too. Adding a little cauliflower can take calories out of your favorite mashed potato recipes and add in a little vegetable goodness, too.

If you are looking to lose weight, then you need to decrease the quantity of oil that you use when you cook. These types of foods contain many unnecessary fats you can live without. Using a nonstick spray is a good alternative as it has the same effects without all the calories.

The smell of garlic can transfer to your hands easily. Rub your hands thoroughly on the interior of a stainless steel sink after working with garlic or other odoriferous cooking ingredients. Doing this cleanses your hands and won’t allow the aroma to transfer to whatever you handle next.

Always read the labels of what you buy. You will often find unhealthy ingredients in one of your cooking essentials. You need to know how much sugars and sodium are in the ingredients because they can cause health problems if you consume too much of them.

Burgers cooked on the grill are delicious; however, many times they stick to your grill. To prevent your burgers from sticking, brush the grill with oil prior to cooking.

Try to add some broths or other ingredients to recipes that call for liquid in place of what it asks for. When a recipe calls for water, you can try chicken or beef broths. You may even want to try something like juice. Buttermilk, yogurt and sour cream can be great substitutes for milk. A simple switch like changing a liquid in a recipe can improve the nutritional quality while giving the dish a whole new spin in taste.

Try to make dinner preparations the evening before. You can cut your vegetables, prepare sauces, soup contents an many other things in the evening before you lay down for bed. Doing so will decrease your stress levels and enable you to look forward to the actual cooking.

If a particular wine’s flavor is unknown to you, then you shouldn’t use it as an ingredient in your food. If you use a wine that you are not familiar with or do not enjoy, you are risking culinary disaster when it comes to the flavor of your food. Several wines suitable for cooking purposes are readily available in the market.

Dried Tomatoes

The night before you are scheduled to prepare a large, multi-course meal, complete as much prep work as possible. Make sure you have all your ingredients before you start cooking, and that you shop and measure them so they are ready to go. When you are ready to start cooking, all you have to do is combine the ingredients and cook them.

You can make your own dried tomatoes. Slice a large, ripened tomato in half-inch-thick slices. If you are using Roma tomatoes, slice them lengthwise into two pieces. Put them facing upwards onto a cooling rack and add a little salt. Put the rack on a baking sheet, and slow-bake in an oven that is set to 190 degrees for about 10 hours. The dried tomatoes can be put in plastic bags and frozen. You can store dried tomatoes in an olive oil filled jar. Add fresh herbs for seasoning. The tomatoes will need to be refrigerated and should be consumed within a couple of weeks.

It is important to cook your meat properly, so always have a meat thermometer on hand. Every meat has a certain internal temperature that needs to be reached in order for it to be safe to eat. There is a lot of bacteria that lives on meat, so cooking it to a high enough temperature to kill it off is important to avoid food borne illnesses.

Create your own stock for tastier dishes. Extra stock can be stored in the freezer and used later. You should always have access to stock when you are cooking other dishes. Homemade soup stock or bullion is a wonderful way to eliminate high sodium and preservatives that are present in commercially made products from your diet.

Trussing means to tie a string around the turkey’s wings and legs, pulling them closer together. This helps keep the bird’s legs and wings close to his body, helping it cook more consistently. In an un-trussed turkey, the legs and wings can get overdone and the tips can burn by the time the body is fully cooked.

Always drain and blot your ground meat after cooking to remove excess fat. This will help to minimize the moisture found on your beef. If your meat is soggy before you sear it, then it will be soggy afterward. The meat is going to sizzle away. This prevents the meat from searing as you intended; it will steam instead.

Keep close watch when baking to avoid under cooking or overcooking a cake. There are recommended cooking times, which are guidelines only. These times can be a bit misleading because there are factors, such as your elevation, that help to determine the cake’s cooking time. You can insert a toothpick or even an uncooked, long spaghetti noodle to check the cake to see if it is ready. If it removes cleanly, it’s done; if batter is on it, it needs longer to bake.

An exciting cooking tip is to be creative. Following a recipe word for word and teaspoon for teaspoon is not always what cooking is about. There are times when adding or subtracting things from a recipe can take the taste to new heights when compared to the original. That makes a person a great cook!

If you are cooking with an unfamiliar item of produce, it is a good idea to take time to educate yourself about it first. Your new food item could be quite versatile in use, so it is good to do the homework. Giving yourself more knowledge prior to cooking anything will go a long way towards improving the overall experience.

When you are using your cutting board to chop herbs, sprinkle a little salt on the board. The salt will keep the herbs on the board and add extra flavor as well. Don’t add any additional salt to the food while you’re preparing it, or it may become too salty. The herbs gain more flavor when the salt sticks to them.

Here are some new ideas for oysters. There are many various ways to eat oysters, besides drizzling them with lemon juice and eating them raw. Lather a bit of cream on the oysters after you place the opened ones in a broiler pan. Drop fresh black pepper and Parmesan on top of them, and place under the broiler until they start to bubble. Another option is to saute the oysters. Coat them with seasoned flour and saute them in warm butter for about two minutes, until the oysters are golden. Try baking the oysters within their shells. Put the oysters in a dish, add some butter and crumbs of bread to each oyster, then cook at it 425 degrees. After five minutes, remove it from the oven. When you notice the juices and butter bubbling, serve it hot with a baguette that is toasted.

Dull Knives

Err on the side of caution by setting a watch timer, in addition to the oven timer. An athletic stopwatch hanging from your neck or a watch timer on your wrist both offer the advantage of proximity, assuring you will hear them go off regardless of your physical location at the time.

A sharp knife is the cook’s bosom companion; spend the money for top-quality cutlery. You can save time not having to sharpen or deal with dull knives and sharper knives are safer to use. Dull knives actually cause more cut fingers and accidents than sharper ones.

To make use of those ends of vegetables and bits of leftover meat sitting in your refrigerator, create a satisfying wok filled with homemade fried rice. Day old rice tastes best in stir fried rice because of its drier taste, but fresh rice will also work. Just add slightly less water than normal. Just add your meat of choice to a large pan or wok, then throw in the veggies followed by the rice and some seasonings. In no time you’ll have a meal.

Check to make sure your meat is cooked thoroughly by using a meat thermometer. All of the different meats require a certain internal temperature in order for it to be safe to eat. If the meat is not cooked thoroughly there is a chance that the bacteria living on the meat could remain and make someone sick if they eat it.

To remove the odors of fish, garlic, onions or other strong ingredients from your hands, rub them on stainless steel for a minute before washing them. You can use the sink itself, or even a special steel “soap” in order to remove these smells.

You can set multiple timers to help you keep track of what you’re cooking. If you use a watch or a cellphone as a timer, you will be sure to hear the alarm go off even if you are out of the kitchen.

To avoid stress, assemble all the ingredients you are going to use beforehand. You will also have all the ingredients you need on hand. It actually works faster to set your ingredients out beforehand rather than grabbing them while cooking, and it can also avoid headaches and hassles while cooking.

There’s nothing like eating a really fantastic meal. Sometimes it might seem that years of training go into preparing any delicious feast, but that’s not correct. There is almost nobody who cannot learn the art of cooking. The advice from this article should give you the knowledge you need to begin cooking.

When frying food, include ketchup in your batter ingredients. In addition to dipping your cooked food in ketchup, it can be utilized as a pre-dip for foods before they are dipped in bread crumbs. Ketchup provides excellent flavor to fried foods, and your friends will love it.

Some people find cooking to be tedious, boring, and difficult. This article will present you with some advice that will help to make cooking enjoyable.

If you are going to make a stir-fry dish, slice the meat on the bias, as thinly as possible. It takes a little practice and time to get it right. Take the meat out of the freezer when it is slightly frozen and cut at a forty five degree angle, do it across the meat’s grain.

You want to make certain you have the prep work done ahead of time. It is essential that the prep work is completed before cooking commences. When you have a limited amount of time, cooking can become stressful. You can help lessen the potential stress by getting all your prep work done early.

Keep all spices stored out of the sunlight. By storing them in excessive light and heat, their shelf life will decrease. Always keep your spices in a dark and cool location to extend their longevity. Better tasting meals are the result of the ingredients you use, including the freshest spices possible.

Do not throw your sauce away. This simple trick can save it. Start with 1 tablespoon and add more cornstarch until you reach the desired consistency. Add this mixture to the sauce while it simmers in order to thicken it up. The mixture should be added slowly and constantly stirred so that it doesn’t get too thick.

Slicing hot meat is often challenging, so consider partially freezing joints before you attempt to cut them up. This works especially well for meats to be used with Asian recipes. If you freeze meat partially, you get a cleaner slice, without the stretching or tearing of fibers. Then allow the slices to thaw so they’ll cook evenly.

When you are going to cook, make certain all the knives are sharp. Dull knives not only are ineffective, but they’re also dangerous! It is easy to cut yourself if you are using a dull knife than slicing it with a very sharp one.

If you are seasoning some meats, you should try a small piece of it before you cook all of it. Take care when seasoning foods like hamburgers, meatloaf or meatballs. You should not cook the dish entirely after seasoning it. Instead of this, you should make a small patty, and cook that first. If you are satisfied with the flavor you can move on to the rest of the batch, or, if the flavor is off, you can add more seasonings to get the flavor right.

Mashed Potatoes

Let raw potatoes soak in some cold water for a half hour prior to frying them to increase the crispiness of French fries. By leaving the potatoes to soak up cold water, the fibers are reinforced. This makes it so when you fry them, they’ll withstand the heat better and won’t break down completely.

You can make healthier mashed potatoes with the same taste and texture you love by substituting cauliflower for potatoes in equal proportions. Cauliflower tends to have a bland taste, so this will blend nicely with the potatoes, and will pick up other ingredients, as well. Additionally, mashed cauliflower has the same texture and color as mashed potatoes, so no one will know that you’ve boosted the veggie content of the dish while removing calories.

When you need to store dry ingredients such as flour, or sugar in your kitchen, use airtight containers. Keeping your food in sealed containers will keep them fresher longer as the air can’t reach them. These containers are easily purchased online or at your local department or even grocery stores. Wherever you get them from, the freshness of any food you intend to store in them is well worth the investment.

If you’ve made sauce, you should place any that is leftover in an ice tray and freeze it. This will make reheating the sauce easy, as you can pull out as many cubes that you need for the next meal. This process doesn’t cause the sauce to go bad, so reheat with confidence!

If you want to make chicken stock, you might as well make a lot of it. If you make a large pot of stock, you can freeze it and store it for future use. You can use your homemade chicken stock for soups, casseroles and stews. Put the stock into freezer bags and put it in your freezer.

Chicken Broth

When cooking vegetables, try cooking them in chicken broth. Chicken broth is an excellent base to use when preparing vegetable dishes that helps keep them from sticking and gives them some flavor. Chicken broth can be found at any grocery store, and is very low priced.

Chicken broth is a great cooking base for vegetables. Not only will the chicken broth stop the vegetables from getting stuck to the pan, but it will also make the dish more tasty. Chicken broth is economical and widely available.

If you wish to eat more protein, try one of the many varieties of beans or tofu available. Both can be purchased at just about any grocery store. You can fry tofu or add it to soups, seasoned well, for a yummy protein alternative. Boil kidney, navy or pinto beans with seasonings and you can enjoy a protein-rich side dish.

Soak wooden skewers before cooking with them. They need to sit in water for about half an hour before they are used. This will prevent them from burning while you are cooking. If you have issues with food falling off skewers, make it a double. Food is much more stable when you use two skewers parallel from one another instead of one.

Try drying your own fresh tomatoes. Slice tomatoes 1/2″ thick to dry. Romas should be cut in two lengthwise. Place the resulting tomato pieces on a rack, then salt their exposed flesh lightly. The rack should then be placed on a baking sheet in an oven set to 190 degrees for no more than 10 hours. Once done, you can store them in your freezer in plastic bags. You can pack dried tomatoes in a jar stuffed with organic olive oil and your favorite freshly cut herbs. This will be good for up to two weeks, and should be refrigerated during that time.

To maintain the freshness and flavor of herbs and spices store in a cool dry place away from direct light. If you store herbs and spices in places that have a lot of heat, they will lose their flavor. This can cost money.

When using fresh herbs like parsley or dill, gather them into bunches and cut them with scissors. This is preferable to chopping the herbs because they will be less moisture laden, making them lighter and fluffier.

After eating turkey, such as for Thanksgiving, never throw away leftovers. Freeze cut turkey in a tightly sealed container. You can use the turkey later to make into sandwiches or a casserole.

Although macaroni and cheese is considered to be a simple dish, there are steps that must be followed to produce the perfect bowl of comfort. You will get the best results this way and be glad you did. Serve your dish with a nice serving spoon. Consider adding some pepper to your macaroni to add some spice.

Ethylene Gas

Use a paper towel to blot your ground meat before cooking it. The excess water on ground meat can present a problem while cooking, so do not skip this essential step. Any moisture remaining will be released upon cooking. Sizzling will occur. It will result in beef that is steamed, rather than seared, completely changing the flavor of your final dish.

Put any of the unripened fruits you buy in a plastic bag with small holes on the bag. As they ripen, they will create ethylene gas. The perforations in the bag allow the air to circulate while the plastic retains enough of the ethylene gas to increase the ripening process and keep the fruit tasting sweet and delicious.

Use a substantial amount of salt in the water when you are cooking pasta. Adding salt at this stage will ensure that the pasta absorbs it completely. Adding salt after the pasta is cooked will cause the flavor to not be absorbed as well.

Always check to see if your utensils are clean if you are about to cook. If old, leftover food is stuck on your cooking utensils, it could ruin the meal you are making. This could cause a lot of very serious problems due to the spread of bacteria.

Prep your grill in advance of your barbecue cookout. Allot at least 30 minutes for the process, prior to placing food on the grill, to get your fire started and coals ready. The coals need to be around medium heat and covered in ash. This is the best temperature to begin grilling.

When preparing a meal, make it part of your routine to wash dishes as you use them. Keep soapy water on one side of the sink and use the other side to rinse your dishes. Washing your dishes is easier if you do not wait until the food gets dry and sticky. Make sure you wipe your dishes and put them away for the next meal.

When you truss your bird, you tie its legs and wings together. It pulls the legs and wings close against the bird, which helps the turkey to cook more evenly. If you don’t truss your bird, the smaller pieces could dry out and burn.

Impress everyone in your home with an easy task like a sandwich by placing the mayonnaise evenly across the bread. Too many sandwich artists hurriedly put a glob of mayonnaise in the center of their bread. Each bite can be delicious and satisfying when condiments are spread in an even manner.

Keep your spices and herbs stored in a dark, dry, and cool area. Light and humidity can diminish the flavor of spices, as can heat. Such close proximity to these three factors will cause your spices to lose their flavors.

Sauteing with too much food in the pan can lead to unwanted issues. The extra moisture will steam the food instead of sauteing it and will not add that little bit of crispness that sauteing is good for. This should also be done at a lower temperature.

Fresh herbs can make a big flavor difference in a simple dish. If the recipe is complicated and combines many different flavors, dried herbs are acceptable. However, your dish will be improved by fresh herbs because of their fresher and stronger flavor overall. It is quite easy to grow a herb garden for your personal use.

Make sure that you maintain your wooden cutting board. Heat, moisture and other elements can cause warping and splitting of the wood. You should not ever leave your board submerged in water, rather apply a wet sponge to clean it. If your board becomes damaged, use an oil consistently that is made for wood boards. Always allow your board to dry completely, whether it is wet or oiled.

A wonderful cooking method to help maintain moisture and flavor in your poultry is brining. Let poultry soak in brine for one hour before you prepare it for more flavor.

Cooked Thoroughly

If you are working with foods that have strong odors, such as fish, garlic or onions, remove the smell from your hands by rubbing them on something that is stainless steel, prior to washing them. You can use your stainless steel sink or a spoon to quickly remove the odor from your hands.

Check to make sure your meat is cooked thoroughly by using a meat thermometer. Different kinds of meat must be heated to a certain temperature inside to be safe to eat. If the meat is not cooked thoroughly there is a chance that the bacteria living on the meat could remain and make someone sick if they eat it.

To speed up the cooking process and make it easier, do all your prep work before you start cooking and gather all your ingredients. By doing this, you avoid the hassle of making it through half of a recipe and realizing you are missing a key ingredient. Collecting all items needed before cooking doesn’t require any additional time, and it can save time and needless effort later on.

Do prep work in advance to cut down on cooking time. Often times, you can get ingredients ready up to several days in advance of when you will be making the meal. A longer cooking time can yield a more flavorful meal. You will find that preparing ahead will become a habit that you greatly value.

Grilling fruit is an excellent option. Load up a kebab with sliced fruits such as melons, peaches, nectarines, and pears. Watch the fruit carefully, and leave the skewer on until your fruit is nicely covered with grill marks. You can then serve them over ice cream or on top of grilled pound cake.

There are several types of potatoes, and they are not all the same. For example, some are waxy and wonderful for making potato salad or boiled potatoes but would not work well as french fries or baked potatoes. When making those types of foods, you should use a fluffy potato, such as a Russet.

It can be easier to blend warm milk into mashed potatoes. Cold milk can weigh down an otherwise light and fluffy batch of mashed potatoes. Who wants dull and lumpy mashed potatoes?

As you can see, it’s possible to make cooking interesting and less like a chore. When you use these tips, you can use your creativity to enhance an activity that you once viewed as a chore.

Do not purchase boneless meat and fish. You can stash raw or cooked bones in zippered freezer bags and place them in your freezer until you have enough for a batch of stock.